Controversial American basketball legend Dennis Rodman has branded Russian president Vladimir Putin as 'actually cool' after he returned from a recent trip to Russia filled with praise for another leader with disreputable roots.

Retired U.S. basketball star Dennis Rodman visited a North Korean ski resort on Thursday with dictator Kim Jong Un as a statement was issued on the former player`s behalf apologising for comments he made about an American jailed by Pyongyang.

Dennis Rodman led an auditorium of North Koreans in singing "Happy Birthday" to their leader on Wednesday, a day after the former U.S. basketball star sparked controversy by appearing to suggest a Korean-American was to blame for his captivity in North Korea.

Dennis Rodman, in a television interview on Tuesday, appeared to blame Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae for his captivity in North Korea, the latest in a series of controversial comments by the former US basketball star.

Former NBA star Charles D Smith says he feels remorse for coming to Pyongyang with Dennis Rodman for a game on the North Korean leader`s birthday because the event has been dwarfed by politics and tainted by Rodman`s own comments.

Former basketball star Dennis Rodman headed to Pyongyang today with a group of former NBA players, saying he will not raise concerns about repression in North Korea because leader Kim Jong-Un is his friend and he loves him.